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A team value proposition is a concise statement that defines the unique opportunities and culture offered by a specific team to employees on that team. In this post, we’ll explore how the team value proposition and employee value proposition are inextricably linked. To learn more about TVPs, download our guide. 

When developing a Team Value Proposition (TVP), it can be tricky to wrap your head around the relationship it should have with the broader Employee Value Proposition (EVP.) Should the TVP be its own thing? Should the TVP share anything with the EVP? Is there a way to effectively tie the two together? 

The answer to all of these questions is… yes. In this post, we’ll help you understand these contradictions and how the TVP and EVP are inextricably linked. 

Understanding Team Value Proposition and Employee Value Proposition

It helps to think back to the central purpose of developing an EVP. The idea is to create messaging that accurately communicates what it means to work for an organization. The goal of an EVP is to screen in candidates who would thrive at the company and screen out candidates who wouldn’t. 

Now take that idea, and replace organization with team. A TVP accurately communications what it means to work for a specific team, department, or office location. The goal of a TVP is to screen in candidates who would thrive on that team and screen out candidates who wouldn’t. 

In this way, the TVP is its own thing. Just as “what makes us unique?” is a core piece of developing an EVP, “what makes this team unique?” is a core piece of developing a TVP. When created right, a TVP should only speak to the experience of being on that team and wouldn’t work if applied to another business area. 

At the same time, each team is part of the wider organization and thus the broader EVP should still apply. It just might apply in different ways. Teams — and therefore TVPs — will often align with certain brand pillars more than others. But, they should align in some way.

Finding that alignment is what developing a TVP is all about. Let’s look at a few ways real organizations have connected their TVPs to the overarching EVP. 

Show how the team lives the core values of the company

If your organization lives its values, mirroring the team experience to wider corporate values should be easy, like this example from Aimee Sandjong, a scientist we interviewed in the Bio Pharmaceutical Division (BPD) at AstraZeneca.

Aimee talks about how the organization-at-large honored and shared her team’s success, which speaks to similar corporate values and a universal employee experience.

One of AstraZeneca’s core values is: We follow the science. The recognition of their scientists’ hard work at both the team and company level shows prospective candidates that their contributions will be appreciated and celebrated.

Tie the team story to the mission and purpose of the organization

Luis from BAE Systems talks about his team hitting a tight deadline. Then, he reveals why it was so important that they did, which speaks to the mission of the company. Team culture and universal mission are communicated to candidates in this short clip.

Weave in one thing that resembles the overarching corporate employer brand

But sometimes, you want to communicate something separate from your mothership universal employee experience or perception. Take Deloitte’s Distribution Center. These consultants don’t travel, and they go into the office everyday surrounded by other Deloitte consultants. That’s unique to DCU, not Deloitte Consulting as a whole. There are still ways to weave in the known brand and values (exemplary service levels to customers, for example) while differentiating yourself.

When you take a TVP approach and include team storytelling, recruitment marketers can easily connect this work to the universal employee experience. Added bonus: this makes your content multi-functional. It can still sit on your careers site to illustrate mission, vision and values, as well as in targeted social ads that fill team roles.

Consider using a team value proposition and employee value proposition approach for your next team experiencing a recruiting and recruitment marketing challenge.

Get started with our guide, How to Create a Team Value Proposition.